World Oceans Day 2017

Today is World Oceans Day – a subject we’ve reported on since 2014. You can take a stroll through some compelling stories we’ve published by using our “Categories” bar (just to the right of this story) – click on oceans, and up will pop a dozen timely stories.

Dr. Sylvia Earle Image by Snodgrass

Renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle says in her book Blue Hope: “With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the ocean, no matter where on Earth you live.”
Her words are as timely now as when she announced her Mission Blue campaign in 2014. Read our story!

The facts she cites are stunning:

90% of the earth’s big fish are gone

Half of coral reefs are gone or in decline

Millions of sharks are killed every year, mostly for their fins – a tasteless luxury soup in China

Breeding and feeding grounds are overfished

“We regard fish as free goods – we need to account for them differently,” says Earle. ” They aren’t free. We all pay the cost…” for what humans are taking out, and also putting in (sewage, trash, carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels).
“People should know that lives depend upon the ocean,” she says. ” We take not just our livelihood but our lives from the ocean.” She is urging you to make better choices about buying seafood, support regulation of the high seas, and to use your voice to do what you can with your power.

Brian Skerry. Photo by Mauricio Handler

Our newest story is a profile of Brian Skerry, National Geographic’s supremely talented, ocean-going underwater photographer, in our three-part series Driven by Nature.

You’ll find other reasons to stroll back through our articles, including:

Free diving on the Great Barrier Reef. The corals are deeply threatened.

The Sea and Its Abundance (2016) More than a dozen books on fascinating species (sharks, swordfish, eels, horseshoe crabs), expeditions and ocean history